"Even if that is not completely successful, I think this issue is of such great consequence, we have to find money." - Sen. Bob Casey

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. on Wednesday lent his support to legislation that would expand preschool education across the country, long a legislative priority of President Obama, but admitted that Democrats had a long road ahead in the battle to pass the bill.

The so-called universal preschool bill, the Strong Start for America’s Children Act, is a 10-year initiative to expand and improve early learning opportunities for children from birth to age five. The bill would fund preschool for 4-year old children from families earning below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

The proposed legislation, Casey said, is based on the “irrefutable” evidence that early learning determines a child’s economic future as well as job creation and the country’s ability to compete in the global economy.

“Children in every state need to learn at an early age, need to learn to read,” said Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, who has pushed the idea since his 2007 arrival in Congress. “The circumstances of birth should not determine whether a child can read or learn.”

The bill, which was authored by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), would accelerate states efforts to provide early learning and would build upon already existing initiatives. The program would be completely voluntary for states and local communities.

Existing funds would be used to fund the program, Casey said.

“Even if that is not completely successful, I think this issue is of such great consequence, we have to find money,” he said.

Casey said the the question should not be “can we afford it,” but rather can the country afford not to take the opportunity to invest in it’s economic future.

With little to no Republican appetite at the moment for this type of mandate, Casey acknowledged that Democrats would have an uphill battle shoring up bipartisan support for the bill.

Casey said that even Republicans who “believed in the commitment to early learning” may not support the bill for other reasons. Indeed, in the wake of the launching of the Affordable Care Act, which has been plagued by widespread problems, Republicans are not likely to show any tolerance for the education initiative.

Casey urged his GOP colleagues to go beyond the “usual Washington reaction” of just talking to staff or other members of Congress on the issue, but rather engage leaders from the business sector on the merits of early childhood education.

“Most will tell you that if we don’t have this kind of commitment to early learning, it’s going to be difficult to provide a skilled workforce that the economy not just needs but demands,” he said.

The proposed legislation focuses on four key goals: boosting funding for high-quality preschool programs serving low- and moderate-income families; increasing the quality of infant and toddler care offered by providers; supporting broad-scale quality improvements to child care programs; and encouraging continued support for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program.

Under the bill’s provisions, states would be held accountable to provide measurable evidence that children were learning.

“Unless you have good results and results you can measure, I think support for an initiative like this might diminish over time if people don’t see you are measuring results,” Casey said.

Asked if whether that measurement would be assessed via standardized testing, Casey said some measuring tools used in grade school would likely apply.

In his 2013 State of the Union address, Obama called for the creation of a new universal preschool initiative for low-income children. Education advocates have widely applauded the initiative.

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